HOSTCOMM NEWS

Introducing New Technology Into the Contact Centre

As new technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), chatbots and artificial intelligence become more commonplace, there’s no doubt that every business is about to change. Contact centres are no exception.

But, unlike most traditional contact centre solutions, these new technologies are hugely disruptive. They promise to redefine how people communicate and work – and if the tabloid news is to be believed, even replace people altogether.

That’s why introducing new technology isn’t as simple as setting it and forgetting it. Instead, your agents need to be led through the process of changed and taught to understand both the advantages of new technology and the value they inherently bring to the table as humans.

What new technology has to offer

One example of a technology that’s rapidly gaining presence in inbound contact centres is chatbots. From the simplest implementation for frequently asked questions to advanced uses of artificial intelligence and learning algorithms, it’s a technology that can complete many of the same tasks as your agents.

In some ways, chatbots and artificial intelligence can outperform even your most capable team members. Chatbots are able to:

Work 24-hours a day, even when the rest of the contact centre is closed

Make the right, pre-defined decisions every single time – with no risk of human error leading to costly mistakes

Scale to manage almost limitless volumes of calls in a way that the average workforce simply can’t

These are all big benefits to inbound contact centres and their customers. However, introducing this technology effectively means communicating how your agents will benefit too.

What new technology has to offer your agents

For a new technology to deliver the maximum value, your agents need to embrace and adopt everything it has to offer. As you would expect, the myriad of ways it can help them do their jobs is considerably more appealing than how technology helps your bottom line.

Using chatbots as just one example, your agents get:

Space to focus their specialist talents on the most important calls, not answering the same few questions time-and-time-again

A more even distribution of calls with artificial intelligence sharing some of the burden

Better intelligence and information when starting calls, with detailed information already collected by a chatbot

Chatbots don’t just help the wider contact centre. They can help agents perform at their best, hit their targets, and have a more engaging working day.

A smooth implementation is essential

Finally, our biggest piece of advice for introducing new technology into your contact centre is a carefully-planned, well-considered implementation. In the earliest days, you’ll be setting the tone for how your technology is received. If a new inbound contact centre solution, chatbot, video calling, or artificial intelligence is perceived as an obstacle to productivity, it can be hard to ever recover.

The right service provider will be able to look at your existing infrastructure and processes, then design a strategy for implementation that minimises disruption. In addition, with a hosted contact centre solution, your migration to new technology can be almost entirely seamless with no downtime or interruption.

So you can start as you mean to go on: with new technology as a valuable addition to your contact centre and an asset for the future.

Find out how we can help you bring new technology to your contact centre.